Do you think that these kind of articles are good for the sport because because it's getting us exposure or do you think it's bad because now people will treat us like criminals when ever they see us skating? I'm keen to hear any point of view you may have.

i think that's just incredibly stupid. even though skateboarders might think it's cool, people who don't skate don't exactly see it the same way. everyone that reads that will remember it next time they see a skater on the road and very possibly decide to report it.

I watched the video.. what a dumbass, he admitted he didn't even know how to foot brake. But I like one of the comments on the article that asks the question concerning whether the bunches of people that made phone calls to the radio stations and used their phones to take videos and pictures would be given the standard $1000 fine for doing so whilst driving?

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There are only 10 types of people in the world - those that understand binary and those that don't.

Think in any sport which has ever come from a kind of "counterculture" that we need to always be extra careful and strive to be ambassadors for our sports... Paintball is banned in germany for example because of Idiots thinking its funny to drive around shooting road signs...

Its up to us to shut them down though... and spin the good light that is actually the nature of the sport...

There is, however, one essential problem which is almost unique to longboarding. It is the fact that this sport can almost only exclusively be practiced in an illegal way. There are no longboard parks, no legally designated areas in which we can safely practice our sport and there seems to be no way around the problem. The industry will never be lucrative enough for the purchase or construction of dedicated DH tracks nor will the State legalize the - incontrovertibly dangerous, practice of skating down public roads. We can be as well meaning as possible but whether we do stupid things like bomb tunnels of death, busy Australian highways, or quiet out of the way roads at dawn we are still breaking a law and committing an act that the state can never condone.

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There are only 10 types of people in the world - those that understand binary and those that don't.

i think this brings us back to the whole trip of simply being nice to everyone you come into contact with. don't get into arguments and don't be a bag of hot air. be humble. respect the people who's neighborhood you're skating in.

There is, however, one essential problem which is almost unique to longboarding. It is the fact that this sport can almost only exclusively be practiced in an illegal way. There are no longboard parks, no legally designated areas in which we can safely practice our sport and there seems to be no way around the problem. The industry will never be lucrative enough for the purchase or construction of dedicated DH tracks nor will the State legalize the - incontrovertibly dangerous, practice of skating down public roads. We can be as well meaning as possible but whether we do stupid things like bomb tunnels of death, busy Australian highways, or quiet out of the way roads at dawn we are still breaking a law and committing an act that the state can never condone.

Nic, I think that's a bit short sighted. This sport is growing at a massive rate right now. "Longboard parks" may not happen simply because you need at least 1km of road which is much more asphalt than a traditional skate park. There are races and freerides though ,granted there aren't too many in SA yet but we are getting there. And there are places where it is legal to skate. Schanskop for instance. We have permission to skate there. Actually, I'm not sure it is illegal to skate down hills in Jo'burg, I've had plenty of cops just drive by me while I'm skating and they seem not to notice me. As long as you're not skating busy roads it's usually cool. Cape Town skaters have gotten themselves a bad reputation with the cops and quite honestly I don't think they will ever shake it off because of the attitude some skaters have. This attitude is exactly what I'm fighting against here. If one skater gets seriously injured at Schanskop because they were not wearing a helmet or they got hit by a car that will be the end of our sessions there. You have to have a high regard for your own safety and that of those around you whenever you are skating. It doesn't matter if you're planning on going over 100km/h or cruising along the beach front, be fully conscious that you are on a longboard and no matter how "in control" you may feel anything could go wrong at any time. Mistakes happen, I've unfortunately had to witness some pretty bad ones.

Sorry to pedantic, but other than, There are no longboard parks, no legally designated areas in which we can safely practice our sport, I have not said anything that can be disputed in any useful way.Nic, I think that's a bit short sighted, would imply that I gave some sort of 'vision' or 'prospects' for the future of the sport which in fact I haven't done.

So I feel reprimanded for my post which states some facts, and I take it personally because it is clearly directed at me, since my name is in the opening. I get ticked off when a post I made gets critiqued without any time taken to actually read the post and answer in any usefull and analytical way. Maybe I am expecting to much from this forum but I kinda expect it to be at least a notch above the type of disassociated commenting one finds on sights that rhyme with say BlueCube.

And although I agree with most of your post, I would have to disagree with you here. Actually, I'm not sure it is illegal to skate down hills in Jo'burg, I think you will find that it is illegal to be on any PUBLIC road in any vehicle which does not satisfy certain requirements and I can assure you that a skateboard does not fall into that sort of category.

[some liberal amounts of smilies in an attempt to keep it light hearted through all this anal retentiveness by me]

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There are only 10 types of people in the world - those that understand binary and those that don't.

Sorry Nic, I should have known better than to start an argument with you. Didn't mean to get personal.The only thing I thought you were being short sighted about was "the fact that this sport can almost only exclusively be practiced in an illegal way". If it were so illegal why haven't more of us ended up in jail? I wont pretend that I know anything about the laws here but if they do exist we can work towards getting them changed rather than just complaining about them. It's also illegal to J-walk but when last did you see someone get fined for that? Anyway, we're going a bit off topic here.

Eventually everybody stops arguing with me, its why I decided to do my second degree in History and not Philosophy the folks in that department dont get any love; you know what they say it only takes one person to know what he is talking about to ruin a good conversation.

First off, lets make it clear that there is in fact (no actual knowledge of particular laws be needed) a difference between the claim X is illegal and X gets me into trouble. It is bad logic to do what you just did; All dogs bark, my mother barks, therefore my mother is a dog is a classic case which is the same as saying breaking the law in front of a police officer gets you in the slammer, I did it in front of a police officer and was not put in the slammer, therefore what I did cannot be illegal.

I wont pretend that I know anything about the laws here but if they do exist we can work towards getting them changed rather than just complaining about them. This is exactly the penaltimate problem which I pointed out in my post. The state cannot legalise the use of Public roads for the use of skateboards.

Please dont take my post to be negative, it was merely offering as it is evaluation of the sport as practiced on public roads.

My post when stripped of the excess fat and laid bare only says the following.

There is [...] one essential problem which is almost unique to longboarding

this sport can almost only exclusively be practiced in an illegal way

nor will the State legalize the - incontrovertibly (unable to be denied) dangerous, practice of skating down public roads

We can be as well meaning as possible but [...] we are still breaking a law and committing an act that the state can never condone.

This does not mean that we should not continue to build relationships with the people in our communities and the police officers that serve us. I am friendly to everybody and there are some police officers that give me crap for bombing down hills at 1am and others that gladly chat and drive me up the hill back to my house at 3 am in the morning.

I think that with the right attitude we can become accepted as individuals that practice our sport as safely as we can in our communities and even have the local police back us in our passion for our sport. However, the state will never legalise in, it cannot. Much like the drag races in my local community which are accepted and even practiced by our local police it cannot be made legal on public roads, it simply goes against the laws that govern the practiceof our roads. I think if you want to see what the future will old (legally) for longboarding look at the debates surrounding dragracing.

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There are only 10 types of people in the world - those that understand binary and those that don't.